Do You Baby Your Device?

[Raphael Salgado]

You spent hundreds of dollars to get the device you've been aching for. You swear that nothing will make contact with the touchscreen, except for a screen protector. A week in advance, you've ordered a silicon or aluminum case, as if to coordinate its arrival to your device's welcome home. The act of sheathing your device in your pants now becomes a ritual to make sure you have no sharp or metallic objects in your pockets to cause inadvertent damage. Does this sound like you? Well, I'll admit, to a certain degree, this is how I feel and have been about my devices. So, you can imagine my horror when my friend pulled out his Treo 650 and it looked like this...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/salgado-20060607-treoabuse.jpg" /><br /><br />...and then asked me if he could borrow my 700w for a week. I asked my friend how he could possibly treat the device the way he does (not before he actually drops it on the ground while trying to show his to me), and his nonchalant response was, <i>"My company pays for it."</i> What steps do you take to protect your device, if any? Do you share the same sentiment as me or my friend when it comes to care and maintenance? Is a warranty enough protection for you? Do you consider the potential future resale value when you buy your devices? Don't worry, Mike, I'll keep you anonymous... ;)

[JwY]

i baby all of my devices and get worked up if there's even one scratch. i don't case them besides a belt holster though, and don't know anyone else that babies things like me.
some of the things that i have used for a year still looks like the way it was new, not that i try to keep a high resale value, but i just like to keep things mint.

[eagle63]

I might be somewhere in the middle. I've owned a number of PDA's and PDAphones over the years (currently a Sprint 6700), and while I ALWAYS put a good quality screen protector on I never use a case - just drop it right in my pocket.

I've tried cases before but I always get annoyed with them after a week and end up taking them off. I probably dropped my Treo 600 half a dozen times, spilled beer on it, etc, but it always survived with nary a scratch. Maybe I've just been lucky thus far... :wink:

[smittyofdhs]

I'm very much like that, I'm always looking for the safest possible way to carry my device, even though it is company property.

After having a Blackberry for so long, I got really use to using a belt holster. Before Blackberry use, I would have never used a belt holster as it was to geeky for me (even though I'm in the ISP biz, I'm not a geek). When I got the XV6700 I tried going back to the front pocket but it just seemed that it got beat around too much. Maybe I'm not use to it....

Anyways, I go back and forth between pocket and belt, thinking one way is better or worse.

BTW.. while on the belt holster, I fell on a roof and already broke my first 6700 so no matter where the device is stored, there's always the chance it's going to get messed up. Maybe not quite as bad as Mike's above, but it will take a beating none the less.

[sixftunda]

If I have my i-730 for another year, it will come close to looking like that. I have only dropped it twice, but in addition to office work I spend alot of time working outside and in the summer I have a campsite I sleep at 4-5 nights a week, so it gets scuffed up quite a bit. I have only one small scratch on the screen and now I do use a screen protector. I really dont have time nor would I even want to try to keep it mint. Its not a baby its my workhorse.

[Clinton Fitch]

I absolutely baby my devices! To the point that I drive my wife nuts sometimes.

Part of it though comes from me having review devices hanging around that I must return to the carrier/OEM. Strangely, they don't like them all scratched up. :roll:

[Janak Parekh]

So, you can imagine my horror when my friend pulled out his Treo 650 and it looked like this...
8O

Just to be clear, the Treos are pretty solid. It's hard to scuff up a device like that. The 700w I'm carrying only has a screen protector on it, but it looks virtually brand-new. I've only dropped it on a carpeted surface once, and generally try to take as good care of it as I can -- and pocket friction cannot cause that. He must have dropped it on concrete repeatedly. :(

(I'm impressed the screen isn't cracked.)

--janak

[paschott]

I try to take care of my device, but not to a huge extent. Admittedly, I take better care of my own devices than company ones (especially the Blackberry, but that's a whole 'nother topic). I usually just try to get a screen protector on the device and avoid dropping it or knocking it off of a table.

I now have to watch out for my kid. She tries to be like dad and has grabbed my PDA a couple of times now to do whatever it is she thinks she's doing with it. I think the worst that happened so far was a bunch of programs started on my poor device. Took a while to close them. :)

BTW, plug for PPC Techs screen protectors - I bought a pack of the AG protectors for my iPaq 2200, put one on, and never had to take it off after that. It's held up for several years or light-moderate use very well.

-Pete

[hang5lngbd]

I babied my device and had the nicest case - until this weekend...
http://hang5.net/IMG_0127.jpg
http://hang5.net/IMG_0131.jpg
... when it fell out of my bag while riding my motorcycle - onto the freeway - and got ran over by a truck.

along with my Nintendo DS lite (straight from japan)

/cry

It WAS in perfect condition. So I rode straight to a Verizon store and got a XV6700 and finally joined the converged era.

[Brad Adrian]

As anybody who knows me will attest, there aren't many aspects of my life that I'm a neat freak about. When it comes to my PocketPCs, though, I can be an absolute nut. I've even resisted taking a brand new device out of the box for TWO DAYS until the appropriate screen protector arrived. And the second thing I get for a new device is a leather flip-cover case like the ones at Sena. My PocketPCs are important tools, to be sure, but they're still my -- ahem -- babies.

Can you imagine how insane I went one day three years ago when my brand new puppy ATE my brand new PocketPC?

I really miss that puppy...

[mmidgley]

My i-mate JAMin was purchased by the company I work for, but only indirectly. So, as I have $600+ buried into this device, I am very careful with it. Screen protector (nushield) was applied immediately and it stays in its case when not in use.

As I'm walking and finish a phone call, I'll start to put the JAMin back in its case and I find myself thinking "with your luck, you'd better stop walking for a moment to put it away so you don't drop it!"

m.

[amesskyway]

My blood temp rose a little when I saw the photo of Mike's device! The HORROR! :evil: I baby my device like it's the only one on earth. I didn't take my T-Mo MDA (my 3rd device) out of the box until I received the screen protector 4 days later. My first PDA (iPaq 3835) is still in mint condition like it's never been used. Might become a collector's item someday. Wishful thinking.

[Patrick Y.]

that's just horrible! How can a person treat gadgets like this?

[KTamas]

A screen protector is the very first thing I usually apply to a device, along with a decent case (though, I'm using the same old Compaq iPAQ 3600 case with the fourth device now ... this case must be transforming). My a bit more than one year old device still looks pretty good with some minor missing painting and another minor glitch.

[ctmagnus]

My main devices always get a screen protector and a case. My SMT5600 has a screen protector. I bought a case for it but got sick of it. My iPod has a case.

[jpjehu]

I always protect the screen before EVER using the device - but was going to be a little lax with the 700w itself - until disaster occured. I was picking up a couple of bags out of the car and it POPPED OUT of my 'ebay-esque' slipper case and fell two feet to pure, old-school concrete. It was the first damage to a PPC in a long time - put divet marks on the bottom and the antenna. Ever since I've kept it in a very-well designed silicone case with a flip-lid from cases.com. I also purchased two other styles of cases so that I never get bored protecting it from any future damage! All this and I still pay $6 a month for Verizon to insure it!! I might be changing to a i730 off of ebay soon so I might actually need to protect it since I probably won't be able to use the Verizon insurance with it. Does anybody know if they'll allow me to get protection for a device bought used????

PS - Back before I had morals and CompUSA still had TAP, I used to 'have an accident' every 6 months to get a different new device. I must say that handhelds have been designed to withstand pretty severe hits - and this was three years ago!

[bnycastro]

I baby my devices as well. Before using it I get a screen protector and never carry it naked I usually purchase 3 cases [Aluminum, Silicone, and Leather] so I can swap cases when I get bored. Once a week I take out the device from the case [in the middle of my bed] and clean it with a lens cloth for my specs. I even take care of the packaging and almost never use the stylus [I use a stylus pen], OEM case, or wired headset.

My Exec is now in a Brando Aluminum case and I've asked a friend in Hong Kong to find me a nice Silicone case, I did try the Brando Book Type Leather Case but felt that the stitching would scratch or make marks on the device so I swapped it for the Aluminum case. I don't mind the weight or bulk as long as the device is protected. I also have a wiping cloth in between the two halves of the Exec when it is folded close [I saw disturbing pics of the Exec's screen having marks from the keyboard the other day on xda-dev's]. I think that if you shell out money for a device you tend to take care of it more.

[pheral]

good god that's like something from a horror b movie! lol.

i like my devices to look a little used, mainly because then i can relax around them, but i'm only talking one little scuff maybe, and a screen protector that has a few gouges... nothing like that!

and crikey hang5lngbd, bad luck! that's one sure fire way to wreck your device.

[sapibobo]

Toddlers + gadgets = perfect disaster.

[doughboy]

Absolutely, I baby it. I did use it for 2 months without a screen protector but now always have one in place (my 2nd Brando protector). Not only do I keep it in a Sena case (it almost never comes out), but also I actually survey an area before I put it down (is there potential for something to be spilled on it, is there anything that could fall on it, could the device fall off, etc.) This may seem anal (it is), but my device has only dropped once from more than a foot. I had it in my shirt pocket getting my daughter out of the car at church and it dropped to the asphalt. The battery door broke and a few niks appeared on a corner but the device did not miss a beat. It worked wonderfully after I purchased a new battery door.

My father and brother are not as anal retentive as I am about their devices (who is) but they always place their Axims back in the case whenever they are finished using it.

I have become even more careful with it recently because I see only a couple of new devices that interest me (Acer, Dell, Pocket Loox). I am almost reserved to the fact that WM5 will not be “corrected” and that my next PPC will be a used WM2003SE device.

[Constant Caffeine]

Why did he need to borrow your 700w? Your phone would be treated like a red-headed stepchild. My answer to him would be, no way in h3ll!

He would treat his phone better if the company he works for made him pay for abusing it. My company makes payroll deductions from those who decide to neglect their equipment. One guy left his laptop in his car overnight last winter. The LCD screen froze and cracked the display, damage $1100. After three months of deductions the guy quit. HR kept his last paycheck to cover the unpaid damages.

If your friend had to pay for the phone, he may have better respect for it.

[MkH]

One of the reasons I purchased the HP 4700 was for its durable magnisum housing. Another was for its protective display cover, which I have since replaced with a PDair black leather cover. I too didn't use new PPC until the NuShield screen protectors arrived a day later. Next I purchased an oversized, rectangular Targus carring case that I also store my extra CF hard drives, ear buds, business cards, extra stylus in and can just throw into my backpack. I transport it to-and-from work in the Targus case and carry it around from meeting-to-meeting with its PDair cover in the back pocket of my jeans.

[Janak Parekh]

I babied my device and had the nicest case - until this weekend...
:cry:

Enjoy your new baby, and sorry to hear about the old one.

So I rode straight to a Verizon store and got a XV6700 and finally joined the converged era.
You mean, like 5 minutes after you discovered the dropping? ;) There's a dedicated Pocket PC user!

--janak

[crispeto]

I coddle and baby my new SDA. The other day I put it on the kitchen counter and went to the bathroom. When I returned to the kitchen I said "I love you!" and my wife said "I love you too!" I didn't have the heart to tell her just "what" I was actually talking to :lol: Now of course it just goes with me. That way there's no misunderstanding :D

[ignar]

I've taken very good care of my PDAs. But since I started use a PDAPhone, I prefer carrying it naked. I applied a screen protector and occasionally put them in a pouch, but most of time, my Treo and iMate JAM were stowed in my pants pocket naked. I dropped Treo for a few times on the concrete, and it was surprisingly solid and got very little damage. Just a little scratch in the corner and little paint off on the D-button.

[karinatwork]

It's hard to imagine someone couldn't "baby" such an expensive device. Even if the company paid for it. I mean, it's yours for the time being, so you have the responsibility to keep it in perfect working condition... isn't that how it is supposed to be, or is that just the German in me speaking? ;)

When it comes to my own stuff, yes - no using unless there is a screen protector on it. With the case, it's different since I use a purse with a specific pocket for the device in it. I like my pocket pc naked :oops: but now that my pocket pc is also my phone, I need to hang it onto my belt sometimes too, hence a case is needed.

Of course sometimes mishaps are unavoidable. Like the day after I got my brand new Imate Jamin two weeks ago, and I spilled cappuccino all over the table with the Jamin lying there. I jumped forward, fished my Jamin out of a puddle of cappuccino and started drying it up, while coffee was freely flowing everywhere, drippling onto the carpet, soaking my work papers and my chair and everything else close by (there was a LOT of coffee in this XL paper cup!). Only after I was sure my baby still worked fine and was clean and proper, I started to clean up the mess. I consider my Jamin now "baptized" and ready for the world. :)

[elempoimen]

I love my PDAs. I even give them baths!

Yeah...killed 2 of 'em that way. Washing machine, not cool. In fact, that's why I'm now a PPC user.

Started w/a Handspring Visor...lost it. Got a Clie tj25. Nice, but not good enough. Then a Zire 71. Nice unit. Used it till it got washed in my pants pocket. Had a couple of cases, but hated them. I always went back to the screen protector/pants pocket route. Then switched back to the tj25. Washed it too...(dang it). Then I got a TX, and really hated it. So, I switched to a iPaq 4155...and love it. I'm more careful with this one...gets charged every night, so no pants pockets after bed. And I'm looking for the right case that keeps it easy to use, but protects it.